What does the elevation attribute of a bacterial colony describe?

What does the elevation attribute of a bacterial colony describe?

• A. The color of the colony.
• B. The vertical profile of the colony (flat, raised, convex, umbonate).
• C. The growth rate of the colony.
• D. The edge shape of the colony.

Answer: (B)

Elevation describes how tall the colony appears above the agar surface, i.e., its vertical profile. It tells you whether a colony lies flat with the surface, is raised, or forms shapes like convex or umbonate, where the center is higher than the edges. This is distinct from color (pigment), margin or edge shape (border), or growth rate (speed of appearance and expansion). So the elevation attribute captures the three-dimensional shape of the colony on the plate.

Elevation describes how tall the colony appears above the agar surface, i.e., its vertical profile. It tells you whether a colony lies flat with the surface, is raised, or forms shapes like convex or umbonate, where the center is higher than the edges. This is distinct from color (pigment), margin or edge shape (border), or growth rate (speed of appearance and expansion). So the elevation attribute captures the three-dimensional shape of the colony on the plate.